Farringdon Gardens Open Day June 1st 2008

After leaving the Beeches another short stroll brought your reporter to Three Ways home of Farringdon's resident artist where once again you reporter was made welcome ( this must be something of a record )

By mid afternoon there were a large number of visitors on the Gardens tour, although not apparent from this image as your reporter's arrival in any of the gardens always seemed to coincide with a mass exodus of non-residents.

Sheltered from the wind in almost any direction there was a considerable temptation to take a break under the Threeways parasol, until the residents representative suggested that such a course of action would leave me little time to visit the rest of the gardens on the tour.

The number of cars parked by the Churchyard was evidence of the number of visitors in Farringdon for the Open Gardens Day but your reporter was temporarily diverted from the pursuit of things horticultural . . . .

. . .when I came across this little gem in Church Road which also proved a diversion for many visitors.

Berry Cottage was the next port of call where you reporter reluctantly resisted the temptation of the cream teas on offer from the catering team as the planned tour was beginning to fall behind schedule. Although there was time to catch up on a few items of local gossip with the senior resident and the Caterer in chief through the kitchen window before proceeding through to catch a few images of the garden.

As usual this cottage garden was a popular venue, although the cream teas might have had some influence on the visitor numbers.

Moving swiftly on along Church Road your reporter headed for Lindenfels where the unprecedented welcome received in the previous venues was not immediately apparent although the resident gardeners were eventually persuaded to allow your reporter access after a considerable queue had built up while the various alternative options available were discussed.

Despite this slight setback there can be no denying the planting in this garden seemed to have thrived this year and provided much interest to the visitors who were welcomed into the premises and even your reporter, despite earlier setbacks was forced to admit (during the prolonged interrogation and body search before being escorted out through the front gate) that the resident gardeners were to be congratulated for their efforts.

After a brief stop for medical attention your reporter headed off to Brightstone Lane for a brief visit to Railway Cottages with less than an hour before the gardens closed.

Obviously forewarned by the their fellow gardeners, there was tight security in place but the adoption of a cunning disguise convinced the gatekeeper that he was dealing with the village idiot and your reporter was allowed to pass with a minimum of fuss.

This was another venue dispensing cream teas and once again your reporter resisted the temptation to avoid expanding the area once occupied by a waistline. Although the cottage garden doesn't have a large garden it generates a considerable interest from visitors in the way the steep side of the old railway embankment has been utilised to make the most of the space available on a variety of different levels.

By now it was almost a quarter to five and your reporter headed up Shirnall Hill (mindful of course of the speed limit) towards Brownings Orchard one of my favourite gardens on the circuit

Brownings Orchard is certainly not in the mould of the instant plot that features on so many television programmes. Over many years a field and a few trees have been transformed into a beautiful woodland garden.

This is a special year for Roger and Jocelyn for it was almost fifty years ago in the autumn of 1958 that they began creating the garden that is always one of the stars of the Farringdon Garden circuit.

Most of the mature trees in the garden were planted by the owners including the Oak tree pictured here, known as the Sefton Oak it was brought back as a seedling from Sefton Park, Liverpool and now one of many mature trees that are a feature of this garden with areas planted with evergreens and flowers.

Wherever you look there is some area of interest and different viewpoints to enjoy this mature and attractive garden

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